Development in software technology has allowed computers to perform a wide variety of useful operations. Depending on the software which is installed within their particular memory storage devices, computers can be used to manage numerous financial transactions of a bank, control the fabrication of items ranging from automobiles down to integrated circuit chips, store addresses and telephone numbers of acquaintances, analyze scientific and engineering data, produce and edit documents, along with transmitting and receiving data.
The World Wide Web (also called the "Web") has also been made possible by recent advances in hardware and software technology. By way of background, the World Wide Web is an internet facility that links documents locally and remotely. A Web document is called a Web page, and hyper-links in the page allow users to "jump" from page to page whether the pages are stored on the same server or on other servers around the world. Since its genesis in the late 1980's, the Web has become extremely popular. Millions and millions of Web pages are now available on the Web, and millions of people access those Web pages daily. One of the primary reasons for the Web's success is that, Web pages, containing both text and graphics, are probably the largest collection of on-line information known to humankind. And, that vast amount of information is easily accessible via a Web browser such as Netscape.RTM. Navigator.TM. or Microsoft.RTM. Internet Explorer.TM..
However, not everyone is able to realize the full potential of computer systems or the World Wide Web. For instance, a person with certain reading or comprehension dysfunctions, e.g. dyslexia, may find producing and editing a document on a computer difficult because he/she may not be able to comprehend information that is presented only in the form of text. Moreover, for those who suffer from visual impairments like acute myopia, surfing the World Wide Web and comprehending information therefrom can also present a significant challenge. First of all, Web pages contain mainly text data. Even search engines, such as Excite, Lycos, or AltaVista, which are indispensable when searching for specific information on the Web, are text-based. Secondly, the font sizes and colors of the Web pages are usually predetermined by the owners of the Web pages. Therefore, a person suffering from a reading disability may have difficulty understanding those Web pages or a person suffering from visibility problems may have problems viewing those Web pages. Thus, most people who suffer from dyslexia, other reading disabilities or visual impairments can become discouraged from using computer systems and the World Wide Web for these reasons.
Furthermore, a number of other non-Web based software exists that routinely presents textual information to users, e.g. word processor, multimedia applications, electronic spread sheets, etc. Persons with reading or comprehension dysfunctions can also become discouraged from using these software. It would be desirable to provide a system that increases the ease-of use of these word processor and multimedia applications. Additionally, as computers become more and more popular in the home and in classrooms, small children are becoming more accustomed to using computer systems and computer programs. It would also be desirable to provide a system that increases the viewing enjoyment and comprehension of the children with respect to the text-based information of a computer program.
Therefore, what is needed is a method of and apparatus for providing text assistance to computer users who are dyslexic, have other reading disabilities or are visually impaired. What is further needed is a method of and apparatus for presenting text-based information to dyslexic, reading disabled or visually impaired computer users during text-editing or Web-browsing. What is yet further needed is a method of and an apparatus for communicating text-based information to computer users, especially younger users, in an easily comprehensible manner that is entertaining.